Janneh's injury pops A&M's bubble hopes at SEC Tournament

Game #26: #15 Auburn 50, #10 Texas A&M 49
Records: Texas A&M (14-12, 7-9), Auburn (15-16, 3-13)
Box Score

It was one point that separated glee from heartbreak, but when the final buzzer sounded, it wasn’t just the scoreboard that stung.

In the first round of the SEC Tournament, #10 Texas A&M suffered a gut-wrenching loss to #15 Auburn to remain on the wrong side of the bubble. The 50-49 result likely ends the Aggies’ aspirations of an NCAA Tournament bid.

But beyond the pain of a razor-thin defeat, the Aggies hurt just as much for forward Fatmata Janneh, who suffered a gruesome knee injury on Wednesday.

“She went into halftime obviously, saw the doctor and came back out, but I don’t have an update right now,” A&M head coach Joni Taylor said.

Not off to their best start after rattling off five straight wins, A&M swapped leads with the Tigers in the first half.

Down 23-21 with 10 seconds before halftime, an awkward landing on an inbounds play brought Janneh down, immediately grabbing her knee in deep distress. Janneh was on track to become the fifth player in A&M history to average a double-double.

Belle Chapa, TexAgs

Before exiting the game with a knee injury, Fatmata Janneh accumulated two points and three rebounds in her 19 minutes of action.

What was a devastating blow for the Aggies turned into a reason to fight.

Either scoring or assisting on 14 of the Ags’ initial 16 points, Ny’Ceara Pryor found another gear.

The All-SEC selection put up 11 in the third quarter to keep the Aggies within striking distance, including a Wade Taylor IV-esque circus 3-pointer as the shot clock expired.

“One of the reasons I came to Texas A&M was to run the show and be a point guard,” Pryor said. “The belief that my coaches and teammates have had in me over the last year has been... I couldn’t ask for better.”

Although Pryor poured in 25, the narrow margin only amplified what was missing down the stretch.

As Pryor’s minutes racked up, it became clear she couldn’t pull it off on her own. She received sparks from Lemyah Hylton, Janae Kent and Lauren Ware in the fourth quarter, but nothing was as consistent as her usual double-double machine in the paint.

As the clock wound down, free throws were missed, and chances to take control slipped. Kent misfired from beyond the arc on their final possession as they suffered the crushing defeat.

“Credit Auburn,” Taylor said. “They came out and played really hard and did an excellent job on both sides of the basketball tonight.”

Belle Chapa, TexAgs

The WBIT selection show will air on Sunday, March 15, at 8 p.m. CT on ESPN+. The tournament begins on March 19, with the semifinals and championship set for March 30 and April 1 in Wichita, Kansas.

Sitting in the ‘Next Four Out’ grouping on Charlie Creme’s bracketology prior to the loss, it is highly unlikely the Aggies will see their name called on Selection Sunday, but there will be more basketball ahead for Taylor’s resilient group.

“We will play postseason basketball,” she said. “This team deserves that.”

Thanks to their frenzy of wins in February, A&M is above .500 and will have an opportunity to play in the WBIT, the second-tier women’s basketball postseason tournament.

Likely one of the top eight schools selected, they could host first and second-round games.

Although they didn’t get it done for “Fats” in Greenville, they will have an opportunity to pursue more for their beloved teammate.